Mom's Chicken & Artichokes

Directions

1. For the artichokes: Cut off the sharp bits at the top and the excess stem at the bottom. Slice them in half then in half again. Scoop out the choke and make sure the outer leaves have been stripped off. Cut them in half again. A large artichoke should be in about 8 pieces. Have a pot with cold water next to your cutting board and pop the artichokes in there right after they are cut. When all is said & done, you should have just enough water to cover the artichokes by about 1/2 inch. Put them on the stove with a medium heat. Smash your garlic and toss it in with a good 1/4 - 1/2 cup of the olive oil and plenty of salt and pepper. Let it simmer with the top off for a good hour. Artichokes should be soft and pretty much falling apart. The liquid at the bottom of the pan is pure goodness so feel free to start dunking your bread early. When the artichokes are done, just turn them off & let them sit. Can be made well in advance.
2. For the chicken: In a large skillet (that you have a lid to) take about 1 tablespoon of butter and the remaining olive oil and heat them up so they are nice & hot. Salt & pepper the chicken & place skin side down until skin has a nice caramelized color to it. Depending on size about 4-6 minutes. Flip the chicken over and get some color on the other side. Right after you have flipped your pieces over, throw in the onion and put the top on for just about 5 minutes so that the chicken is just cooked through and the onions are wilty. You may need to take some pieces out so that they don't over cook! When the chicken is cooked, take it out & place it on a plate Pour off about 1/2 the fat from the pan and place it back on the stove at medium heat. Add the wine and the broth and then scrape up the delicious bits from the bottom of the pan to make a nice pan sauce. Let the liquid reduce by 1/2. Grab your artichokes and dump them in the pan and let a bit more of the liquid cook off. Pop your chicken back in for a few moments to warm and swim in the sauce. I like to serve this right in the pan. The sauce is like catching a glimpse of heaven. Remember to serve with lots of crusty bread!